The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-21
HOW AMBER IS CARVED.
SOME INTERESTING POINTS FUR.
NISHED BY A CARVER


Know All About Them-A Few Who
Figure in the Newspapers-The Eff
fort to Meet the Public Demand with
Regard to Them.
NEW York, Aug, 20.-There is a little I'M
pretentious store on Nassau street, With a
shop in the rear, where more amber is cut
than in any other establishment in New York.
Meerschaum is carved there in great quanti-
ties, but amber is the special object of trade.
The ruling genius of the place is an intelli-
gent man of middle age, who learned his
trade in Vienna, where nearly all meer-
schaum and amber carvers are schooled. lie
tells you that when they begin as apprentices
they are frequently sent out TO the house of
some nobleman or magnate to clean and re-
pair his collection of pires.
The collector is not considered of much ac-
count by the apprentice unless he has an as
sortment of 100 or more pipes, some of them
very delicate and requiring the utmost care
IN handling.
The Nassau street amber dealer leads the
way into shop in the rear of his place. 1t
is a queer-looking place full of odd-looklng
machines, one of which is polishing APP
parautus made of rags fastened i'll circle
about the spindle Of a lathe. The room is
thanked all about with racks full OF carving
tools. The dealer goes to a large cabinet
of drawers full of dull-looking Jumps of
amber and he explains that no product is
more variable in price. One lot which. he
shows you was purchased for dollar
pound, while another, which looks little bet
ter to your Impractical eye, costs $50. 1t is
in selecting as well as the ECONOMICAL cutting
of his amber that the successful dealer
makes his money. A pound of amber, care
fully cut frequently yields not over three
and a half ounces OF marketable goods, and
the loss in cutting is always over 10 per
cent. The dealer selects a promising piece
of amber starts a delicate little circu-
lar saw and cuts it in two Then he takes
one of the sections, places it esdwise on a
little block of lockwood, selects a curious
and rather clumsy looking iron tool, SOME
what resembling stonecutter's chfsel, from
the rack, and cuts the amber with down.
ward push of the implement Nearly every
piece of amber has specks and flaws, and to
cut 1t SO as to remove these and still keep
the piece of a proper size and shape re
uuires the utmost care. AS the dealer gradu-
ally fashions the piece into pipe mouth
piece he tells you what he has learned about
amber. Hesays: sit is full of electricity and
/ suppose that is why some of the ancient
philosophers believe it to be possessed of
soul I myself believe that it has curative
properties We take the smaller fragments
and make them into beads which we sell ct
from 81, so to S12 set. They are worn by
many people as a preventive Of sore throat.
] have known men to wear them. The
most of our amber comes from mine i'll
Prussia on the BaltiS coast. Some is flshed
out of the sea near Dantzig Some amber
has been found at Gay Head, at Martha's
Vineyard, and at Cape Sable, in this country.
Then something SO closely resembling amber,
that it is called false amber, is found in In
dia It goes TO China and is highly priced
for ornaments. If you go over on Mott
street YOU will see the Chinese dudes wear
ing bracelets made of it. The Mohamme-
dams take more amber than any other PEG
pile Amber is designated as clear, cloudy
or milky. The Mohammedans and the
Americans, who are good judges, prefer the
milky variety. In Hungary they like best
the clear or transparent. The American
sias reason for liking milky amber Now,
here is what looks like cigar holder Of trans
parent amber, but it isn't amber at all. IL is
made of gum copal. 1t isn't easy TO initiate
the milky amber, and that is why it is pre-
ferred by many"
As the dealer talked he had gradually
fashioned the mouth-piece to tire required
shape. He put it into lathe-lilxe machine
and performed the delicate operation of
drilling a hole through it and cutting a
thread ON it by which it was to be attached
to the pipe stem. Then il was polished The
operation lasted about an hour. The dealer
said that piece of amber Weighing two and
half pounds is a rarity, and that the lar
gest lump ever discovered was of thirteen
and half pounds weight. It's use is in
creasing every year. Whenever an amber
cutter begins to work on transparent piece
he always looks IN it for an insect or a drop
of water. If he Is lucky enough to find such
curiosity he knows that he can sell it to a
collector or a college museum for a hand
some sum. The insects which became i'm
bedded ages ago in the soft tree gum which
gradually hardened and found place in the
ground as amber are subjects of careful
study by naturalists Not long ago a col
lege purchased in Europe two large trans
parent specimens, in the centre of each of
which was perfect fly. They were highly
priced until it was discovered that they were
made of gum copal, and that the insects
were house flies of late date. To find a
piece of amber with drop of water in
it is considered the greatest of good for
tune, and a small piece will bring $50 or
more.
I The rage in New York for large hair
ornaments has given an impetus 20 the am
Der trade, and one carver in the dealers
shop has fashioned large piece into au Ella
borately carved breastpin representing a
rose.
When the dealer had returned to the front
of his establishment a customer came in and
purchased an expensive amber cigar holder
he requested that it be inclosed in a box
not stamped with the dealers name. His
desire was granted. The dealer smiled and
asked: Have You just returned from
Viennap The customer laughed, answer
ed in the affirmative and said that he wished
to make friend a present of genuine
Vienna cigar holder The dealer explained
that nearly every day some man who has
been abroad comes in to buy a pipe for q
present. lie either forgot when in Vienna
TO purchase promised pipe or he didn't
want to pay the duty on the present and he
makes his purchase at home and deceiveS
his friend. Straight brier pipes with horn
mouth-pieces have become very popular
with some New York smokers, while the
Germans prefer for street smoking little
meerschaum with goose bone stem. The
Anglomaniacs made hard struggle TO in.
troduce in New York the English fashion
of smoking pipe on the street, but the at.
tempt was not attended with entire success
Comparatively few smokers in New York
use a cigar or cigarette holder but the
great number of those articles given as pres
ents during the holiday season'by wives who
don't know what else to buy and who hit mp
on a smokers outfit as last resort keeps the
trade lively. " the Teuton grandees who
used 10 control the amber mines of Prussia
and roll in luxury from their proceed,
We're now alive and could have a monopoly